


Enid's crush

by DangerRollins



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Carl likes to ride his skateboard, Enid has a huge crush, Enid wants to know who does his nails for him, F/M, Police Officer Rick Grimes, Teacher Negan (Walking Dead), some characters tagged are just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 16:29:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14109423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DangerRollins/pseuds/DangerRollins
Summary: Enid doesn't know how to approach Carl.





	Enid's crush

**Author's Note:**

> Either you've pictured Carl as a long-haired cutie with eyeliner and black nail polish, skateboarding through town on a lovely, windy day listening to heavy metal at least once, or you're lying.

Enid sat on the shiny gym floor with her legs crisscrossed and her elbows resting on her knees, her fists digging into her cheeks as she tuned Negan out. He was reading from a piece of paper, going over some announcements from the principal. The same announcements that had been played over the intercom twice today, and the same announcements that all the other teachers had gone over as well.

It was mostly just a few new rules that wouldn't stick for more than a few weeks and the dates of things that Enid didn't personally care about, like when money for prom tickets was due and when soccer and tennis games were happening--She didn't give a damn. She didn't go to school events; She stayed away from the school as much as she could.

Instead of listening to all that boring bullshit, she allowed her eyes to drift toward her left, where Carl was. He was lying on his back, texting away on his phone and letting out a few silent chuckles as he listened to Ron talk from his spot next to him.

Enid's eyes quickly scanned his long figure, and she noticed that as usual, he was wearing all black. His gym shorts and band tee, his socks, his converse, even his shoelaces. His nails were painted black as well, which Enid found endearing. She also wondered who painted them. She'd never been good at doing nails and every time she tried to paint hers they turned out looking gross and lumpy. His looked great. She wondered if he did them himself.

The only other color that could be found on him was white, and that was just his skin and his eye patch. His hair, though brunette, looked darker as well because it was wet with a mixture of sweat and water. They'd played an intense game of dodgeball earlier at the beginning of class, and the gym was always stuffy, and Carl seemed to sweat a lot when he was active, she'd noticed. He'd wet his hair to cool himself down after they were done with the game.

Enid wished she looked that good even while sweat-drenched. He made it attractive. He looked like some type of model, and she looked like a wet dog. She tried not to think like that, but it was true.

"Negan, can you just let us go early? Come on, it's Friday, we've only got fifteen minutes left and we've all heard all this already." Sophia whined from across the gym, interrupting Negan's monotonous dialogue. She was perhaps the only one brave enough to talk to him like that, other than Carl, and Enid couldn't figure out how either of them could be so brave. Negan could be nice, she'd witnessed it first hand, she knew it was true, but still. He was intimidating and unpredictable and she didn't wanna piss him off, ever.

Maybe it was because he was Carl's stepdad, and Sophia was Carl's best friend so she had to be spending a lot of time over at their house. They were both just used to him and his ways, but Enid wasn't.

Negan narrowed his eyes at the usually quiet girl and placed a hand on his hip. "You think I wanna read this boring ass bullshit to you bunch of ingrates? I don't. None of you are listening and none of you are going to follow these dumbass rules. I'm just as tired of reading this shit as you are of listening to it, but hell, I have to make my money somehow, don't I?"

"You'd still get paid if you let us go--" She looked at her watch again. "--Fourteen minutes early."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't be miserable if I let you leave early now, would you? One of the only joys I get from teaching you little shits is knowing that you're all suffering just as much as I am."

"At least you're close to retirement," Sophia stated sweetly, a sarcastic grin crossing her face. "What, one more year?"

"Detention," Negan growled before going back to reading. Sophia shook her head and let out a small laugh before putting her earbuds in.

Enid glanced over at Carl again but quickly diverted her eyes as she realized he was looking in her direction. She pushed her hair behind her ears nervously, wondering if he'd noticed she'd been looking at him or if he just assumed she was looking at something else. She shielded her face with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could just disappear.

She'd had a crush on Carl for the past year and a half, ever since moving to the small town of King County. She was too afraid to talk to him, he was every bit of intimidating as Negan was, and she was a shy person all around. He seemed nice enough, but what if he wasn't? What if he was really mean and told her to fuck off?

Carl was hard to read. From what she could tell, he wasn't exactly popular, but yet he had a shit ton of friends. He wasn't a rude asshole for no reason, but him punching someone in the jaw or cursing someone out wasn't unheard of either--In fact, since she'd been here, she'd heard of and or witnessed him in four different confrontational situations. He was a badass, no doubt.

It wasn't like those people were undeserving though. He'd punched a guy named Spencer in the face for touching some girl that Carl hadn't even known when she'd asked him to stop touching her. At least, that's what Enid heard from her...Acquaintance, Lizzie.

Lizzie couldn't always be trusted to tell the truth, but it seemed like she was this time, and it sounded like something Carl would do.

Enid had seen Carl a number of times, practicing on his skateboard out in front of the school or occasionally in the gym, but Negan always took his board when he caught him riding it on his 'Nice, **beautiful** ' gym floors, so he didn't do that much. He always had his earbuds in and he was always walking with Ron or Sophia, or one of his other friends.

Enid had worked up the courage to speak to him twice, but she didn't go through with it either time.

The first time, it'd been in the hallway, on her way to her third period class. She'd passed by his locker and noticed that for once he was alone, and she was gonna say hello, make some excuse to speak to him, but then--

"Get out of my way,"

Spencer had stepped in front of him just as he closed his locker, preventing him from going anywhere. "You gonna make me?" Spencer had asked.

"Do you think I won't walk my ass right the fuck outside, find your shitty ass car, and bust all of your windows? **Again**? Because I will. **Don't** make me prove it." His voice was low, his eye squinted in an incredibly intimidating glare, and Enid watched as Spencer scurried away after that, looking rather alarmed. She wasn't about to talk to him after witnessing that.

The second time had been while she was at the police station.

It was during the summer, her third day on the job. She was volunteering there, just sorting through files, taking calls, all that shit. Her mom's good friend, Carol, worked at the station and had promised to keep an eye out for her while she was there.

Enid's mom needed to find a way to keep her busy--distracted--During the summer because she didn't want her sitting at home all day all by herself while she was at work. She suggested that Enid get a job, and well, the police station is where she ended up.

Rick, Enid had learned, was Carl's dad. He was pretty damn intimidating too, when he wanted to be, but he was incredibly polite once you got to know him. He'd quickly become a role model, the type that her mom had wanted her to find, and they'd bonded while she was working there.

One day, Carl came to the station. He didn't stick around for long, just long enough to ask Rick if he could go to a party and maybe borrow fifty bucks for some new video game that was out. Rick had agreed to let him go to the party, but the fifty bucks was a no go.

Carl was still thankful. Killing two birds with one stone couldn't always be an option. Sometimes, it required two stones. That's what he'd jokingly said before strutting out of the station, at least.

Ten minutes after he left, it was time for Enid's break, and she decided to head outside for some fresh air. She waltzed right out of the station, expecting to see nothing but trees and birds and the sky, same as usual, but instead, she was met by the sight of an especially attractive looking Carl Grimes.

He was heading back in as she was walking out.

She wanted to be invisible, she wanted to run away, she wanted to pretend she didn't see him at all, but that wasn't an option. Instead, she stood there, mouth partly open and eyes wide, frozen in place. What the fuck was she supposed to say to him?

He stood there looking at her, the look on his face unreadable to her. He didn't look angry and he didn't look happy. He was just standing there, blinking slowly, lips pursed a little, eye narrowed just a bit.

"You're blocking my way, you know." He's said after a few more moments. She cursed herself not so silently, more along the lines of whisper yelling 'Shit!' And then scurrying out of the way. He only chuckled at her, nodded a bit, and then walked inside. She noticed his walk was so...Cool. A confident stride. She wished she could walk like that.

She didn't really think of that moment as talking to him. She'd only said one word and it wasn't even...To him.

After he left, she hurried back inside, cheeks red and brows furrowed as she wondered why she was so damn stupid. She sorted through the few papers on her desk--which was really just the other side of Rick's desk--like a wild woman before coming to a sudden halt and letting out a loud huff. She looked up for only a second and noticed Rick staring at her with a raised eyebrow and a squinted eye. He looked skeptical and amused.

That was the day he found out about her crush.

"He can be a tough cookie, but he's got basic manners and he's not rude to anyone for no reason." Rick had told her several times, trying to encourage her to talk to the younger Grimes. "Once you get past the harsh glare and the willingness to throat punch someone...He's quite nice."

She'd leaned back in her chair and given him a blank stare to let him know that none of his words were making her want to approach his son.

"The problem is, you think he's like peanut butter brittle."

"Excuse me?"

Rick shrugged before going on. "Peanut butter brittle is decent, but it's difficult to swallow. It's hard on the inside **and** on the outside, hard to chew, hard to swallow, hard to get used to. You know?"

"No."

He went on.

"But you should be thinking of Carl as something more along the lines of...Thin Mints. Hard on the outside, sure! But all gooey and delicious on the inside."

"I don't like thin mints."

So, Rick hadn't been able to convince her to talk to Carl, but at least he'd tried.

Anyways, that was over four months ago, and she still hadn't uttered a word to him, so she figured she just never would...but she was wrong.

***

She'd only been home from school for an hour before her mom had rushed into her room with a large smile on her face and the house phone in her hand. "It's Rick!" She whisper-yelled. Enid looked at her weirdly. What was so great about Rick calling them? "He wants to talk to you!"

Enid slowly took the phone and held it to her ear, watching her mom closely and trying to figure out if she was drunk or something. "Hi, Rick." She mumbled.

"Hello, Enid." Rick's voice was teasing as he drew the words out. "I need to ask you a favor."

"I'm not sorting through another stack of papers until May." She quickly interjected. "And I'm not finding any lost criminal records either. You're just gonna have to face the wraths of Carol--"

"No, everything is good at the station." Rick chuckled. "I need you to babysit for me tonight. Maggie, Beth, and Glenn are out of town, Sophia is busy, and those are really the only people I trust her with...Other than you. I'm sure you'd take good care of her."

"Well, yeah, I'd say I'm good enough with kids, but what--Why--Where's Carl?"

"He's gonna be there too, but he's got a lot of homework to do. He's behind in a lot of his classes because he'd rather play GTA every day after school instead of doing his actual homework." Rick grumbled. "I didn't want him to have any excuse to not do anything, and Judith can be a handful sometimes so I know he would've used her to get out of doing his work."

"Sure, I don't have anything else to do anyway, but..."

"Don't worry, Carl will keep to himself...But I'm sure you two will have a chance to talk at least once--"

"Rick--"

"I'm just saying! I'll pay you forty dollars if that's okay. Me and Negan are going on a little date tonight. We shouldn't be more than three hours. Sound good?"

Forty dollars for three hours? Sounds great!

"Yeah, sounds good! What time should I come over?"

"Head over in about an hour. Your mom already knows the address and the house should be easy enough to spot."

"Alright, see you then."

Her mom hadn't stopped staring the entire time she'd been on the phone, now practically bouncing up and down in an excitement. "Enid, this is your chance to talk to that boy you obsess over--"

"I don't obsess---"

"Oh, I am so happy for you! Now, listen, you're going over there to babysit which is a big responsibility. I don't want you slacking off or getting distracted because of Carl. Rick is trusting you with his little girl, and you'd better take good care of her, alright?"

"Yes, mom." Enid rolled her eyes.

"Good! And don't do anything I wouldn't do--"

"Mom!"

"I'm just saying! Now hurry up and get moving. You've only got an hour to get ready and you need to shower and find something nice to wear!"

Enid sighed as her mom bounced around her room eagerly, babbling about god knows what.

***

Enid looked back and forth between the two outfits she'd picked out. The first one was a black, knee-length dress with lace at the bottom, a dark denim jacket, and her favorite pair of black, suede boots. The second one was a simple pair of dark jeans with rips in them, converse, and a twenty-one pilots top.

The second outfit was more her style, but the first was cuter.

With a loud huff and a small eye roll, Enid shook her head and decided to just wear the outfit she'd be most comfortable in. She put on her jeans and T-shirt, brushed out her hair, and then ran out of her room, shoes in hand.

For some reason, she'd gotten into the habit of putting her shoes on in the car.

The car ride wasn't all that long, thank god, because her mom spent the whole ride giving her 'The Talk' for the thousandth time and gushing over the fact that she'd finally get the chance to talk to Carl.

Enid tuned her out the best she could and tried not to vomit as she thought of being trapped in a house alone with Carl. She had no idea what she'd say or do, how she'd feel, or how she'd be able to make it through tonight.

All she had to do was survive tonight.

Easier said than done.

When they finally pulled up in the driveway of a decent sized house, Enid let out a deep sigh, rubbed her temples a few times, and then opened the door. "Wish me luck." She mumbled.

"Good luck!" Her mom shouted out of the window.

Enid knocked on the front door, praying that Rick would answer instead of Carl, and then waved goodbye to her mom as she pulled out of the driveway and began driving off.

When the door swung open, Enid took another deep breath as she noticed it was Negan who'd answered. At least it wasn't Carl, she guessed.

"Oh, it's you! I knew your name was familiar! You're the girl who always has a doctor's note when it's time to do the mile run." He smirked. She blushed as he gestured for her to come inside. "Leave her alone, Negan. When I was her age I skipped school to avoid the mile run. At least she's polite enough to bring an excuse." Rick called, having heard Negan even while in the living room.

"One of those notes was legitimate too." She grinned.

Negan patted her back and strolled toward the living room, gesturing for her to follow.

Rick gave her a small nod as she walked in, already preoccupied with trying to make the living room look somewhat presentable, but it was no use. He was ankle deep in toys and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Excuse the mess-- Four-year-old." He chuckled. "Judith and Carl are outside right now, probably searching for our cat, which is not actually our cat, or sitting on the roof which I've begged Carl not to sit on--and specifically, not to sit on with the four-year-old child--but, they should be back in soon enough. Carl is here so I don't have much to tell you about Judith. She's not allergic to anything, she's pretty easy to take care of other than being a humongous ball of energy, and he can help if you have any questions. But if you **don't** have any questions, he should be in the kitchen working on homework the **entire time** \--"

"I knew you were hiring her to babysit me and not Judith," Carl grumbled as he entered the house, holding Judith's hand. Enid almost melted, her vision blurring as she tried to keep her face neutral. It was difficult, she could feel her lips trying to twist upward, but she kept it together the best she could.

"I didn't hire her to babysit you," Rick rolled his eyes as he placed his hands on his hips. Enid snickered as she noticed it was his usual sheriff's pose, the same one he used every time he scolded someone that'd been caught doing something illegal. She wondered what having a cop as a dad was like. "Although, I am giving you an extra ten to make sure he gets at least some of his work done," Rick muttered as his eyes drifted back to Enid. Ah. So that's why she was getting forty bucks for just three hours.

"Well Carl is here, Judith is here, Enid is here...I don't see why we're still here." Negan cut in, tapping his watch impatiently. "Dinner isn't gonna eat itself and my dick isn't gonna suck itself either, so—"

Carl scrunched up his face as Rick rubbed a hand down his and Enid let out a small laugh. She wasn't surprised; He was crude enough in school, but outside of school? She imagined he was ten times worse.

"Get in the car, Negan." Rick hissed.

They said their goodbyes, telling Carl and Judith to be on their best behavior before heading out, and when they were gone, Carl closed the door and then turned to face Enid.

"I'm gonna go start on my homework, but if you need any help with Judith just let me know."

' **Wow he's so nice**!' She thought to herself. He didn't have to offer to help, he could've been a jerk about it and told her not to bother him, but he didn't. Was it just her or did he have the heart of an angel? She was swooning!

Not to mention how amazing his voice sounded. It was deep yet soft, but he also sounded like he meant business. He looked really good tonight too! He had on his usual black attire, though he'd changed into a different outfit from earlier. Jeans, converse—much like her own—and a black flannel. He was wearing a white T-shirt under the flannel, though. His style was wonderful!

Enid realized that Carl had already made his way into the kitchen by the time she'd snapped out of her trance. Clearing her throat and pushing her hair behind her ear, she turned to look at Judith who'd crawled onto the couch. The blonde girl simply stared at her, a small frown on her face.

"Hi!" Enid waved. "I'm Enid."

"Judith." The little girl smiled shyly.

"Nice to meet you! So, what would you like to do?"

"Candy land," Judith grinned.

***

An hour of Candy land later and Judith had finally gotten tired of playing. Enid was thankful for that because she's been tired of it fifteen minutes after they started playing.

"I'm hungry." Judith had mumbled, seemingly tired from what must've been a long day. Enid gulped and nodded, standing up. "What do you want to eat?" She asked.

"Mac and cheese," Judith answered. She climbed onto the couch again and pulled her blanket over her before staring at the TV which was playing the loud house. Enid shut her eyes for a few moments before turning to walk to the kitchen.

She was scared to go in there and she didn't wanna have to face Carl, but she had to feed the kid or else she'd be considered a bad babysitter.

She gave herself a mini pep talk before casually strolling into the kitchen where Carl was hard at work, doing what looked like a history worksheet. He looked up when Enid entered and gave her a small smile.

"Sorry, Judith got hungry and I just came to get her something." She mumbled. She tried to speak up, but her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't even look at him for more than a few seconds without feeling like she had to throw up.

' **Pathetic** ' She bullied herself.

"That's okay, I was looking for an excuse to stop working anyway," he smirked. "What does she want?"

"Mac and cheese."

"Did she seem sleepy when she asked for it?" He questioned. Enid nodded. "Don't worry about fixing it. Just wait in here for five minutes and she should be asleep." He chuckled. "She never seems to ask for Mac and cheese until she's sleepy. Can't figure out why."

Enid nodded silently before shifting her weight to her left foot. She didn't know what to do now. He told her to stay in the kitchen with him, but what was she supposed to do in here for five minutes?

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

How fucking considerate is he? Enid felt like her heart was about to burst.

"No, I'm fine," she smiled.

Honestly, she was starving, but she wasn't about to tell him that. She was a messy eater. She couldn't risk it.

"Enid—It's Enid right?—What did I do to you?"

She was caught off guard by the question. What did he mean?

"What?"

"You look like you're about to shit your pants every time I'm in the same room as you. Did I do something wrong?"

"N-No—" she shook her head quickly. What was she supposed to say to him? 'I have a humongous crush on you and you terrify me so I try to avoid you at all costs?' "You scare me." She shrugged, cringing right after. Great going.

"Why?"

"I don't...Know?" She muttered. "Ugh—Maybe it's just because I've never had a proper conversation with you?"

"Well, now is as good a time as any to have one. Sit down." He nodded toward the chair across from him and Enid did as told, not knowing what else to do.

"I'm Carl Grimes. You're Enid. Great to meet you," He smirked. "I've noticed you staring at me before. Any specific reason why?"

"I-I--You just--Well, I just--"

"You've got a crush on me." His smirked widened. "My dad is a blabbermouth and you're not very discreet. That's how I know if you're wondering, which I know you are."

"That's not--Well I don't--I mean--"

"I think you're cute. From what I've heard you seem like a cool girl, and you're wearing a tøp shirt so you can't be all that bad. I'd love to get to know you better. Maybe we could hang out? You know, when you're not babysitting me and my sister." He chuckled.

"I..." Enid frowned a little before pinching her thigh. "Is this a dream?" She whispered to herself. "This seems like a dream. One I've had before."

"Nice to know you dream of me." Carl grinned.

"I'd like to hang out." Enid nodded. "Can't promise I won't barf from the excitement."

"It's a date then."


End file.
